Build quality and design

First thing that got my attention was the size of the tablet. The working area is 11 by 7 inches. Diagonally, that's 13 inches. That's huge! It can barely fit into my backpack. Should you need an even larger wireless tablet, there's the enormous Giano WH1409.

The build quality is fine. The body is mostly plastic but it feels solid with little flex. It definitely does not feel as premium as the Inspiroy G10T (also wireless) which I reviewed months ago.

The drawing surface is slightly smoother than Wacom tablets. It would have been great if there's just a tiny bit more texture, but that's just my personal preference.

Quick specs

Pen Technology

Electromagnetic Resonance

Working Area

279.4 x 174.6mm

Dimension

390 x 223 x 11mm

Net Weight

0.88kg

Resolution

5080LPI

Report Rate

233pps

Pressure levels

8192

Express keys

8 Customized Press Keys

Wireless

2.4G

Hover

1cm

Battery

2500mAh (around 40hrs life)

What it comes with

Tablet

Pen

Pen stand

Replaceable nibs

Wireless USB receiver

Tablet charging cable

Pen charging cable

Pen

The stylus included is battery powered. Charging is via the back of the pen, so there's no eraser at the back. There are two side buttons that you can customize with the settings.

The stylus is long, has a nice weight and good to hold. It feels a bit cheap but that's probably because it's a bit light.

The pen stand allows the stylus to be put horizontally or vertically.

Inside the stand are 8 replacement nibs.

Instead of including a separate nib remover, the nib remover is not built into the pen stand. It's a smart design and better that way.

The wireless USB receiver is also held inside the pen stand. You need to plug this into your computer for the wireless capability.

There are 8 physical shortcut buttons on the tablet. Each button can be customised to a specific keyboard shortcut of your choosing. The buttons have a firm click to them.

Since the tablet is wireless, it's also battery powered. That's the charging port at the top, and the power switch beside it. The battery life of the tablet is rated to last for 40 hours. Basically, for normal drawing sessions, the battery life should last for 2 weeks, that's if you draw 4 hours each day for 10 days. You've got to remember to switch off the power manually if not the battery would just drain.

On the right side of the tablet is a on-off switch to lock the physical shortcut buttons to prevent accidental presses. It's good to have but rather unnecessary.

To use the tablet while charging, you need to connect it to your computer with the USB cable provided. The tablet cannot be used while charging if you connect it to those USB wall charger. The tablet can still detect the stylus, but the cursor will not move.

Settings

That's where you customize the keyboard shortcuts to the 8 physical shortcut buttons on the tablet.

You can map the tablet to a specific area of your screen. By default, it's mapped to 100% of the screen. The tablet is designed for 16:9 monitors. If you're right handed, you can choose to rotate the tablet 180 degrees via the settings. That's the left handed mode.

You can change the sensitivity of the pressure curve here. However, you're not allowed to drag the curve. So you're limited to the predefined pressure curve supplied. I find the default sensitivity to work quite well.

Drawing performance

I'm glad to report that there are no glitches when I used the tablet on Windows and Mac.

Photoshop CC on Windows 7

Illustrator CC on Windows 7

Photoshop CS5 on Mac

Illustrator on Mac

The tablet also works without issues on the Mac with Mischief, Medibang Paint Pro, Krita, Affinity Photo and Tayasui Sketches Pro.

In all the graphics software, I was able to get the lines I expected. The stylus is very sensitive. Personally, I can't tell the difference between 4000+ and 8000+ pressure levels. The feel the same to me.

The stylus is accurate. Strokes taper smoothly. The transition between thin and thick is smooth. There are no jitter in the lines. The stylus works very predictably and consistently.

Conclusion

Overall, the tablet works well, predictably and consistently without any issues. Sometimes with Huion tablets, there can be driver glitches but those are absent with the Huion Inspiroy Q11K so that's fantastic.

If you need a wireless tablet, this is one to consider. If you need a smaller wireless tablet, there's the DWH69. If you need something larger, there's the Giano WH1409.

Another thing to note. On the Mac, the driver does run until you're signed in. So if you need to type a password before you sign in, you won't be able to move the cursor with the stylus to your sign-in icon. If yours is the auto-login without password, no problem.

Availability

There's currently a 15% discount for the tablet on Huion's website. Usual retail price is USD $120. The discounted price is USD $102. Discount ends on 28 May 2017. You have to get it directly from Huion at https://www.huiontablet.com/inspiroy-q11k.html

Is this a good tablet to get for a beginner? I do digital drawing on my iPad but I've wanted to try using a tablet for a while. I have never used a tablet before and was wondering if this one would be ok?

Basheer Graphic BooksThey are our sponsor! They are based in Asia but ship globally. Contact them via email or Facebook for enquires.

APD SingaporeAPD Singapore (sponsor) is a book distributor/seller in Southeast Asia. Contact them via email for enquires about upcoming books.

Affiliate linksLinks to Amazon, Book Depository, Utrecht Art Supplies, Jackson's Art, Craftsy are affiliate links. When you buy from those affiliate links, I earn some commissions at no extra cost to you. Your support runs this blog.Learn more.